Taking A Cat on a journey?

[originalspa]

I\'ve just rescued a gorgeous Ginger tom, Simba who gets on with my other 2, if a little playful for them! He\'s confident, mad and likes to be cuddled. I\'ve had him just over a month now.

Thing is, I\'m going to Leicester this weekend (I live in London!) and not comfortable putting him in a cattery on his own, as he likes playing and likes the attention. I don\'t want to leave him with the others, as they\'re used to staying on their own for a couple of days and I know that Simba will eat all the food! (I feed him separately but if I don\'t keep an eye on him, he\'ll run into the bedroom and eat theirs!!)

Will he be ok if I take him with me in the car? I\'m taking the litter tray and scratch post with me also!

Just wondered if anyone else takes their cats with them! Thanks!

[Mr Veritas]

We have had cats for many years,and have two at present,so I may be able to give you some (personal)advice.
You say that you have "just " rescued Ginger.
Cats are "place" animals and feel secure in surroundings that they know.
I think it would be very inadvisable to take Ginger with you,please find a way to leave him at home if at all possible.
He would probably feel that you were taking him to be rehomed again,given that he hasn;t been with you long, and on your return could take a lon while to settle again as he would be anxious.
He seems to get on with your two.
Taking him with you poses the risk that he will get out,and get lost,not something you would want to face.
I don't think that the feeding "problem" cannot be overcome.I assume that you have someone coming in to feed the other two?
Just arrange with them to stay while the cats eat their food,and feed Ginger in another room with the door closed.Don't let Ginger out until the other two have finished.If the person doing this cannot agree to this they shouldn't be looking after the cats.
Leaving him at home would be far less traumatic for Ginger,and he wouldn't have to re~intergrate with the other two on his return.
If you had had Ginger for some years there wouldn't be any problem taking him away,but as he is relatively new it would be kinder to leave him in the place he regards as his ow,with his "friends".
If this doesn't sound right,let me know,and I will see if I can think of something else.

[tinkerbell23]

i dont own any pets...but i looked after my aunts pup one time for two weeks and had to work a few hours each day...i fed him in morning and bought this FANTASTIC contraption (lol) a timed feeding bowl!!!

had an ice pack in bottom and enough for two feeds....i set the timer to allow him to get his lunch and there would hav been a bit for dinner too but i filled that with water...he had a tendency to eat and drink everyyything at once or spill his water!! dont know if that would be any help to you xx

[originalspa]

Mr Veritas,
Thanks for your answer! Not the one I was looking for! We've had the other 2 for almost 3 years now and they're a little more nervous that he is and are quite content to stay on their own! We normally use a timed feeder like the one Tinkerbell suggests but Simba hasn't been left on his own as yet!

I say he gets on ok with the other 2 but he can be found scrapping with my other boy sometimes, he seems to be ok with my girl though! As they're all rescue cats, they're all neutered and spayed.

I'm still deliberating!!

[LoftyLottie]

Have you tried him in the car. He might be fine with it. I have often taken my cats in the car (two of them would travel happily on the back parcel shelf. Naughty I know. Not all cats are for places rather than people. The cat I have at present would settle happily anywhere as long as I was around and she is happy enough in the car.

Give him a quick run out in the car and see what happens. However, my cat also settles in the cattery where she goes when we have a holiday. She doesn't mind a bit and comes home quite happily. I could never leave her at home with just someone popping in to feed her. She relies on human company too much and would probably go out searching for us.

[Barmaid]

I have this problem with my boy cat "ASBO". My girl cat is fine and can be safely left for up to 48 hours (with loads of food, water and a couple of trays). ASBO on the other hand likes company, wrecks the house if he is bored and eats all the food in five minutes. Taking him with me anywhere sends me cold (he is a total thug). So I have "Cat Lady". I get her from an agency and she comes in twice a day for an hour at a time to feed them, clean the tray and give them cuddles. I think I pay about £11 a day plus VAT. It's worth it for my peace of mind.

[yinyang]

i think you would find the journey very difficult. i once spent 45 minutes in a car with a cat that howled and scratched her box the whole time. It was extremely distracting and nearly drove me insane.

What if the cat is sick or need the toilet while you're on the road - can't just take him to a grassy verge like you could with a dog!

Remenber too that even if the journey up is a total nightmare, you'll have no choice but to do it again going home.

If it's only for a couple of days, can you not confine the cat to your bedroom with everything he needs in there.Do you have somebody that would be able to pop in every day to make sure he's ok?

[Graham-W]

We have a cat and a touring caravan. The cat, Maxwell, travels in his cat box in the car with us and is no bother at all. On site he has his litter tray in the toilet compartment and is quite happy when we have to leave him on his own. He's 12 years old so this may make a difference.
He is not happy to go outside during the day but at night, when no-one can see him he often goes for a walk. We watch him from the window and he will walk about 10ft from the 'van and then turn round to check where we are before proceeding a further 10ft. I was very nervous the first time we let him out but he is no bother at all even though we go on different sites. I must add, the sites are very small with a maximum of 5 caravans, not large commercial sites.

[LoftyLottie]

When we caravanned, we used to come across quite a lot of people who toured around with their cats in the van. Cats can travel with their owners very well, especially if they are introduced to it early in their lives. People often assume that cats prefer places to people but I haven't found it to be true. I do know a lot of cats who hate travelling though, even though they are find when they get to their destination. I used to take one of our cats with me to see my elderly mum on a very regular basis. No problem whatsoever, and actually she was a rescue cat and was adult when I took her on.

[Barmaid]

To be fair, although my girl doesn't like going in her box, she has travelled a fair bit here there and everywhere. Although she yowls for the first 5 minutes, I find sticking the radio on but reasurring her every now and again soon means she settles down.

On the other hand, within 3 minutes of me putting ASBO in his box he has tried to wreck it and done a protest poo.

(NB, when I move in a few weeks, the OH has agreed to move him for me - sadly I can't fit both cats in my car. I haven't told the other half about the seat wrecking and the protest pooing. lmao)

One thing my friend did Original when she recently moved her cat from Lincolnshire to Scotland was to give her rescue remedy. She travelled no problem.

[originalspa]

Good news, he was absolutely fine!! He whined for about 20mins but settled down and slept and when we took a break, we let him out in the car for a wander and a little food, not that he ate much but he was purring away and had a little water! I thought I'd have trouble getting him back into his carrier but he went in with no problems!!

He's met all my family and he's been spoilt rotten and he got a chance to meet my sister and nephew who'll be coming to ours when we're away and he'll be fine!

Thanks to everyone who responded!! I think it depends upon the cat as there would be no way I would've got my other two for that journey!!

[LoftyLottie]

Glad it went OK. It depends so much on the cat and the owner too. I have never had a problem transporting my cats and they are so used to being involved in our lives that they usually adapt as long as we are around. People do not give them credit - they aren't so much different from dogs at the end of the day.